This invention relates to the art of medicine and more particularly to a method of administering EDTA complexes.
Chelation therapy, involving the administration of EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) complexes, for removing arterial calcium plaque, or for removing heavy metals such as lead and mercury, has been practiced for many years. It is normally administered intravenously to a patient, who must remain relatively immobile for about three and a half to four hours each session. The normal schedule is three sessions a week for three months. Such frequent immobilization inconveniences the patient, and requires considerable dedicated floor space at the administration facility. An alternative method of administration would be preferred by many doctors and patients.
Oral ingestion of EDTA is impractical, inasmuch as stomach acids destroy its effectiveness.
I have discovered that EDTA can be administered in other ways, especially rectally, in suppository form, provided that the EDTA is bound in a container, matrix or vehicle which releases it slowly, over a period of hours.
Prior inventors have developed suppositories with time-release capability for other medications. The materials employed vary. Usually, the bulk of the suppository is an inert waxy carrier in which the medication is dissolved or suspended. Early suppositories used a material, such as gelatin, which dissolved slowly in the intestine. More recently, synthetic polymers have been used, as have metal salts in a matrix which regulates the release of medication. Representative prior U.S. patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,265,875; 4,292,300; 4,406,883; 5,151,434; 5,188,840; 5,215,758; 5,352,455 and 5,393,528. All the patents identified in the preceding sentence are hereby incorporated in this specfication by reference.